Oil Kings’ Stroeder thrilled to lift Canada to victory on home ice
Everything at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup is familiar this week for Kayden Stroeder.
The rink. The dressing room. And perhaps most importantly that includes the goal horn.
On Tuesday, the Edmonton Oil Kings forward set it off himself twice with a pair of goals as Canada beat Slovakia 6-1 at Rogers Place.
“Obviously I’m a little familiar with the goal horn here,” Stroeder said post-game with a smile. “It’s cool to be back home as I like to call it.”
His first of the game came on the power play at 9:48 of the second as he converted Ryerson Edgar’s cross-ice entry pass before his second came 3:44 into the third as he buried Landon DuPont’s feed down low.
Using that home-ice advantage again❗️
The @EdmOilKings' Kayden Stroeder has his second of the evening! 🇨🇦 #HlinkaGretzkyCup pic.twitter.com/sLlacI9a5y
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) August 5, 2026
“We stuck to our structure,” Stroeder said after Canada secured its second straight win. “We’re a really strong team that has a lot of weapons to use so if we play our game like that every game I don’t think we’ll have many issues.”
The fifth overall pick in the 2024 WHL Draft, Stroeder had the benefit of getting 16 games under his belt as a 15-year-old in 2024-25. Last year he parlayed that headstart into a 13-goal, 32-point campaign with the Oil Kings and this year will be relied upon even more.
“They’ve done a ton for me,” Stroeder said of the Oil Kings. “Letting me play a ton of games as a 15-year-old and even last year playing lots. The guys, the coaches, it’s been unbelievable and our development plan there is next to none.”
The Hlinka – as always – also officially kicks off the NHL Draft season where no doubt many will be following Stroeder this year. He’ll definitely have his suitors but don’t think he’s giving it much thought.
“I just play hockey because I love the game,” he said. “That’s my goal every single day. If the draft happens and things go well for me then that’s a plus. I just want to play hockey.”
For more information on the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, click here.
Canada’s roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup
Goaltenders (2)
Sam Berthiaume (Cape Breton Eagles / QMJHL)
Leif Oaten (Lethbridge Hurricanes / WHL)
Defencemen (7)
Brock Cripps (Prince Albert Raiders / WHL)
Landon DuPont (Everett Silvertips / WHL)
Matt Henderson (Kingston Frontenacs / OHL)
Malik L’Italien (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL)
Cooper McAslan (London Knights / OHL)
Quinn Norman (Newfoundland Regiment / QMJHL)
Boston Tait (Wenatchee Wild / WHL)
Forwards (13)
Brock Chitaroni (Ottawa 67’s / OHL)
Ryerson Edgar (Niagara IceDogs / OHL)
Brock England (Seattle Thunderbirds / WHL)
Ben Harvey (Prince Albert Raiders / WHL)
Alexis Joseph (Saint John Sea Dogs / QMJHL)
Aleks Kulemin (Kingston Frontenacs / OHL)
Charlie Murata (Flint Firebirds / OHL)
Liam Pue (Regina Pats / WHL)
Maddox Schultz (Regina Pats / WHL)
Kayden Stroeder (Edmonton Oil Kings / WHL)
Benjamin Veitch (Newfoundland Regiment / QMJHL)
Camryn Warren (North Bay Battalion / OHL)
Jaakko Wycisk (Guelph Storm / OHL)
